Method and Apparatus for Money Transfer to an Account

ABSTRACT

A method includes receiving, by a processor, a request to initiate a money transfer transaction between a sending party and a receiving party. The request may include information identifying an account associated with the receiving party. The method includes initiating, by the processor, validation of the account associated with the receiving party. The method includes initiating, by the processor, the money transfer transaction between the sending party and the receiving party in response to a determination that the account associated with the receiving party is valid. Initiation of the money transfer transaction causes funds to be deposited into the account associated with the receiving party.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application relates to systems and methods for initiatingand funding money transfer transactions to an account.

BACKGROUND

Money transfer transactions have become common. For example, a moneytransfer entity may establish a location, such as a brick and mortarstore or a kiosk, and a sending party may visit the location to initiatea money transfer transaction between the sending party and a receivingparty. The sending party may provide funds (e.g., cash, payment with afinancial card, a prepaid card, etc.) to the money transfer entity, anda the receiving party may receive the funds from another location of themoney transfer entity (e.g., at a remote location). Verification thatthe funds from the sending party have been received prior to providingthe funds to the receiving party at the remote money transfer locationis important, since many money transfer transactions involvedistribution of cash to the receiving party.

In order to provide further services to money transfer customers, othertypes of money transaction have also been created, such as cash toaccount (C2A) transactions, where the sending party provides funds tothe money transfer entity and the money transfer entity then coordinatesthe deposit of the funds into an account associated with the receivingparty. Such transactions, however, require precise information to becaptured in order to correctly and efficiently implement thetransaction. Further, this information may be confidential to one ormore parties and should not necessarily be freely provided to otherparties of a transaction or the money transfer service itself.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides for systems, methods, andcomputer-readable storage devices providing cash to account (C2A) moneytransfer transactions. One or more aspects of the present disclosure mayfacilitate initiation of, processing or, and/or funding of C2A moneytransfer transaction between a sending party and a receiving party evenwhen the sending party provides information associated with an invalidaccount or otherwise fails to identify an account of the receivingparty. In an aspect, the systems methods and computer readable storagedevices of the present disclosure facilitate real-time accountvalidation in connection with C2A money transfer transactions, andcreation of a new account when account information provided by a sendingparty identifies an invalid account. Thus, one or more aspects of thepresent disclosure enable completion of C2A money transfer transactionsin real-time even when the sending party does not provide valid accountinformation.

In some aspects, funds from a money transfer transaction may bedeposited directly into a receiving party's account in real time from abank account associated with a money transfer service. Accordingly, amoney transfer transaction may be initiated and the sending party'sfunds received in one or more locations, such as an agent location, asending party's computing device, and the like. Upon the money transferservice receiving the funds, instead of requiring a transfer of funds toan account at a bank, an existing bank account associated with the moneytransfer service may provide the funds to the receiving party's account,thereby providing for a real time funding of the money transfertransaction.

In accordance with an exemplary aspect, a method includes receiving, bya processor, a request to initiate a money transfer transaction betweena sending party and a receiving party. The request may includeinformation identifying an account associated with the receiving party.The method includes initiating, by the processor, validation of theaccount associated with the receiving party. The method includesinitiating, by the processor, the money transfer transaction between thesending party and the receiving party in response to a determinationthat the account associated with the receiving party is valid.Initiation of the money transfer transaction causes funds to bedeposited into the account associated with the receiving party.

In accordance with another exemplary aspect, a system includes aprocessor, and a memory coupled to the processor. The memory storesinstructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processorto perform operations that include receiving a request to initiate amoney transfer transaction between a sending party and a receivingparty. The request includes information identifying an accountassociated with the receiving party. The operations include initiatingvalidation of the account associated with the receiving party, and, inresponse to a determination that the account associated with thereceiving party is valid, initiating the money transfer transactionbetween the sending party and the receiving party. Initiation of themoney transfer transaction causes funds to be deposited into the accountassociated with the receiving party.

In accordance with yet another exemplary aspect, a computer-readablestorage device stores instructions that, when executed by a processor,cause the processor to perform operations that include receiving arequest to initiate a money transfer transaction between a sending partyand a receiving party. The request includes information identifying anaccount associated with the receiving party. The operations includeinitiating validation of the account associated with the receivingparty, and, in response to a determination that the account associatedwith the receiving party is valid, initiating the money transfertransaction between the sending party and the receiving party.Initiation of the money transfer transaction causes funds to bedeposited into the account associated with the receiving party.

In accordance with an additional exemplary aspect, a computer-readablestorage device stores instructions that, when executed by a processor,cause the processor to perform operations that include presenting, at adisplay device of an electronic device, a user interface that includes aselectable option to initiate a money transfer transaction between asending party and a receiving party. The operations include receiving aninput corresponding to a request to initiate a first money transfertransaction between a first sending party and a first receiving party.The request may include information identifying an account associatedwith the first receiving party. The operations include initiatingvalidation of the account associated with the first receiving party,and, in response to a determination that the account associated with thereceiving party is valid, initiating the money transfer transactionbetween the first sending party and the first receiving party.Initiation of the first money transfer transaction causes funds to bedeposited into the account associated with the first receiving party.

In yet another aspect, a computer-readable storage device storesinstructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor toperform operations that include receiving, from a money transfer entity,an account validation request. The account validation request may bereceived in connection with a money transfer transaction between asending party and a receiving party, and may include candidate accountinformation associated with an account associated with the receivingparty. The operations include validating the candidate accountinformation based on whether the account associated with the receivingparty exists, and transmitting, to the money transfer entity, validationinformation that includes an indication of whether the account with thereceiving party exists. The operations may include, subsequent totransmission of validation information indicating that the account withthe receiving party does not exist, receiving a request to create a newaccount based on the candidate account information.

The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technicaladvantages of the present invention in order that the detaileddescription that follows may be better understood. Additional featuresand advantages will be described hereinafter which form the subject ofthe claims. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art thatthe conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilizedas a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying outthe same purposes of the present application. It should also be realizedby those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do notdepart from the spirit and scope of the application as set forth in theappended claims. The novel features which are believed to becharacteristic of embodiments described herein, both as to itsorganization and method of operation, together with further objects andadvantages will be better understood from the following description whenconsidered in connection with the accompanying figures. It is to beexpressly understood, however, that each of the figures is provided forthe purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended asa definition of the limits of the present embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding, reference is now made to thefollowing descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary system for initiating,processing, and funding a money transfer transaction;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating aspects of an exemplary method forperforming a money transfer transaction at an agent device;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating exemplary aspects of a method ofinitiating a money transfer transaction from a sending party device; and

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating aspects of an exemplary method forcreating an account in connection with a money transfer transaction.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 1, a block diagram of an exemplary system forinitiating, processing, and funding a money transfer transaction isshown and designated 100. As shown in FIG. 1, the system 100 includes asending party device 110, an agent device 130, a banking device 150, anda central server 172. The sending party device 110, includes a processor112, a memory 114, and a communication interface 118. The memory 114 mayinclude read only memory (ROM) devices, random access memory (RAM)devices, one or more hard disk drives (HDDs), flash memory devices,solid state drives (SSDs), other devices configured to store data in apersistent or non-persistent state, or a combination of different memorydevices. The memory 114 may store instructions 116 that, when executedby the processor 112, cause the processor 112 to perform operationsdescribed in connection with the sending party device 110 with referenceto FIGS. 1-4.

The communication interface 118 may be configured to communicativelycouple the sending party device 110 to one or more networks, such as anetwork 170, as shown in FIG. 1. The communication interface 118 may beconfigured to communicatively couple the sending party device 110 to thenetwork 170 via a wired or wireless connection established according toone or more communication protocols or standards (e.g., an Ethernetprotocol, a transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP), aninstitute of electrical and electronics engineers (IEEE) 802.11protocol, and an IEEE 802.16 protocol, a 3^(rd) generation (3G)protocol, a 4^(th) generation (4G) protocol, a long term evolution (LTE)protocol, etc.).

The network 170 may be a wired network, a wireless network, or mayinclude a combination of wired and wireless networks. For example, thenetwork 170 may be a local area network (LAN), a wide area network(WAN), a wireless WAN, a wireless LAN (WLAN), a metropolitan areanetwork (MAN), a wireless MAN network, a cellular data network, acellular voice network, the internet, etc. Additionally, the network 170may include multiple networks operated by different entities. Forexample, the network 170 may include a first network (e.g., a paymentprocessing network) operated by a first network operator (e.g., afinancial card payment processing entity, a credit card company, a bank,an automatic clearing house (ACH) entity, another type of financialentity, etc.) and a second network (e.g., a LAN, WAN, WLAN, wirelessWAN, etc.) operated by a second operator (e.g., a money transfer agent,an operator of a chain of grocery stores, a fueling station, an operatorof a chain of fueling stations, etc.). The sending party device 110 maycommunicate with the agent device 130 and/or the bank device 150 via theconnection to the network 170.

As shown in FIG. 1, the agent device 130 includes a processor 132, amemory 134, and a communication interface 138. The memory 134 mayinclude ROM devices, RAM devices, one or more HDDs, flash memorydevices, SSDs, other devices configured to store data in a persistent ornon-persistent state, or a combination of different memory devices. Thememory 134 may store instructions 136 that, when executed by theprocessor 132, cause the processor 132 to perform operations describedin connection with the agent device 130 with reference to FIGS. 1-4. Thecommunication interface 138 may be configured to communicatively couplethe agent device 130 to one or more networks, such as the network 170,as shown in FIG. 1. The communication interface 138 may be configured tocommunicatively couple the agent device 130 to the network 170 via awired or wireless connection established according to one or morecommunication protocols or standards (e.g., an Ethernet protocol, aTCP/IP protocol, IEEE 802.11 protocol, and an IEEE 802.16 protocol, a 3Gprotocol, a 4G protocol, an LTE protocol, etc.).

In an aspect, the agent device 130 may be a laptop computing device, apersonal computing device, a tablet computing device, a point of sale(POS) device, a handheld POS device, a smartphone, a mobilecommunication device, or any other electronic device operable to performthe operations of the agent device 130, as described with reference toFIGS. 1-4. The agent device 130 may include or may be coupled to one ormore peripheral devices (not shown in FIG. 1). For example, the one ormore peripheral devices may include a money order printer, anidentification capture device (e.g., a signature pad, a camera, a pinpad module, a financial card reader, a biometric scanner, etc.), areceipt printer, another printing device, a barcode scanner, a meteringdevice, a weight sensor, a check reader, etc.

As shown in FIG. 1, the bank device 150 includes a processor 152, amemory 154, and a communication interface 158. The memory 154 mayinclude ROM devices, RAM devices, one or more HDDs, flash memorydevices, SSDs, other devices configured to store data in a persistent ornon-persistent state, or a combination of different memory devices. Thememory 154 may store instructions 156 that, when executed by theprocessor 152, cause the processor 152 to perform operations describedin connection with the bank device 150 with reference to FIGS. 1-4. Thecommunication interface 158 may be configured to communicatively couplethe bank device 150 to one or more networks, such as the network 170, asshown in FIG. 1. The communication interface 158 may be configured tocommunicatively couple the bank device 150 to the network 170 via awired or wireless connection established according to one or morecommunication protocols or standards (e.g., an Ethernet protocol, aTCP/IP protocol, IEEE 802.11 protocol, and an IEEE 802.16 protocol, a 3Gprotocol, a 4G protocol, an LTE protocol, etc.).

In an aspect, the bank device 150 may be a laptop computing device, apersonal computing device, a tablet computing device, a POS device, ahandheld POS device, a smartphone, a mobile communication device, or anyother electronic device operable to perform the operations of the bankdevice 150, as described herein with reference to FIGS. 1-4. The bankdevice 150 may include or may be coupled to one or more peripheraldevices (not shown in FIG. 1). For example, the one or more peripheraldevices may include a money order printer, an identification capturedevice (e.g., a signature pad, a camera, a pin pad module, a financialcard reader, a biometric scanner, etc.), a receipt printer, anotherprinting device, a barcode scanner, a metering device, a weight sensor,a check reader, etc. The bank device 150 may process bankingtransactions (e.g., deposits to and withdrawals from accounts ofcustomers of a bank entity, wire transfers, account-to-account transfersbetween different accounts within the banking entity, account-to accounttransfers between an account of the banking entity and an account ofanother entity, etc.), or may be coupled to a device that processes andexecutes the banking transactions.

During operation, a money transfer entity may facilitate money transfertransactions using the agent device 130. For example, the money transferentity may operate multiple money transfer locations operating indifferent geographical locations (e.g., different areas within a singlecity, different cities, different states, different countries, etc.).The money transfer transactions may facilitate payment, by a sendingparty (e.g., a user of the sending party device 110), of funds to themoney transfer entity at a first money transfer location. Subsequently,the money transfer entity may provide payment of the funds, less atransaction fee, to a receiving party located at a second money transferlocation. The first money transfer location may be the same or different(e.g., different cities, different locations within a same city,different states, different countries, etc.) from the second moneytransfer location.

In some instances the money transfer entity may provide the sendingparty with a code or other unique identifier that the sending party maycommunicate to the receiving party, and the receiving party may presentthe code or the other unique identifier to the money transfer entity atthe second location to authorize the payment of the funds to thereceiving party. Presumably, only the sending party could have providedthe code to the receiving party. Thus, the presentation of the code orthe other unique identifier may be used to verify the identity of thereceiving party. In an aspect, the central server 172 may facilitate theauthentication of the code or the other unique identifier (e.g., from adatabase (not shown in FIG. 1) stored at a memory (not shown in FIG. 1)of the central server 172, by communicating with the first agent device130, etc.). In another aspect, the second agent device 130 mayfacilitate the authentication by communicating with the first agentdevice 130 over the network 170 (e.g., via a private network, etc.),rather than the central server 172. Typically, in such money transfertransactions, payment of the funds to the receiving party, onceauthorized at the second money transfer location, is made in cash, andmay take a few minutes or a few days to complete, depending on themethod used to communicate the code or the other unique identifier fromthe sending party to the receiving party, the respective locations ofthe first and second money transfer locations, the amount of money beingtransferred from the sending party to the receiving party, etc.

In some instances, the money transfer entity may provide the funds tothe receiving party by depositing the funds into an account (e.g., abank account) associated with the receiving party. Such transactions maybe referred to as cash to account (C2A) transactions. In a C2Atransaction using presently available systems, a registered receivernumber (RRN) is manually created at the agent device 130 (e.g., at a POSdevice). The RRN may be associated with a user profile (e.g., a profileof the sending party or the receiving party) and may include bankaccount information associated with a bank account associated with thereceiving party, and funds provided by the sending party may bedeposited into the account by the money transfer entity using the bankaccount information provided during the creation of the RRN. In someinstances, due to the manual entry of the RRN information (e.g., thebank account information, the profile information, etc.), the C2Atransaction may be initiated with incorrect information, causing the C2Atransaction to fail.

In some instances, the failure of the C2A transaction may result in nodeposit of funds into the account, such as, for example, when the bankaccount information included in the RRN or in the profile identifies aninvalid bank account number, an incorrect bank entity, etc. In otherinstances, the failure of the C2A transaction may result in the fundsbeing deposited into a wrong account, such as, for example, when thebank account number identified based on the RRN is a valid bank accountnumber for the identified bank entity, but is not a bank accountassociated with the receiving party. In still other instances, thereceiving party may not have an account at the bank entity indicated bythe RRN information. Thus, when the C2A transactions fail, the receivingparty is unable to receive the funds from the money transfertransaction.

Such failures must be corrected manually and may take days to correct,resulting in the dissatisfaction of customers of the money transferentity, resulting in delays in providing the funds to the receivingparty, and resulting in additional work/lost productivity for the moneytransfer entity. The inventor has recognized that approximately thirteenpercent (13%) of presently executed C2A transactions are initiated withincorrect information, causing the C2A transactions to fail for one ormore of the reasons listed above or other reasons. One or more aspectsof the present application provide systems and methods that providereal-time account validation for C2A transactions, thus reducing alikelihood that a C2A transaction, once initiated, will fail orotherwise cause delays in providing the funds to the receiving party inconnection with a money transfer transaction. Additionally, one or moreaspects of the systems and methods disclosed herein may facilitatereal-time C2A transactions despite a sending party providing invalidbank account information.

The system 100 may receive a request to initiate a money transfertransaction between a sending party and a receiving party. In an aspect,the system 100 may receive the request from the sending party device110. For example, the sending party device 110 may include anapplication that may be stored in the memory 114 as the instructions116. The instructions 116 may include instructions that cause theprocessor 112 to present a user interface of the application at adisplay device of the sending party device 110 (not shown in FIG. 1).The user interface may include a selectable option to initiate a moneytransfer transaction (e.g., a C2A transaction) between the sending party(e.g., a user of the sending party device 110) and the receiving partyfrom the sending party device 110. The application may receive, via theuser interface, an input corresponding to a request to initiate a firstmoney transfer transaction between the sending party and the firstreceiving party. In response to the input, the sending party device 110may generate a request 102. In an aspect, the application executed atthe sending party device 110 may be a web browser and the user interfacemay be a web page.

In an additional or alternative aspect, the request may be received atthe agent device 130. For example, the sending party may visit a moneytransfer location and an employee of the money transfer entity mayoperate the agent device 130 at the direction of the sending party toinitiate the money transfer transaction (e.g., the C2A transaction). Thesending party may provide information (e.g., a name of the receivingparty, account information associated with the receiving party, etc.) tothe employee, and the employee may enter the information to the agentdevice 130 to generate a request 104.

The request (e.g., the request 102 or the request 104) may includeinformation identifying an account (e.g., candidate account information)associated with the receiving party. In response to generating therequest, the sending party device 110 or the agent device 130 mayinitiate validation of an account associated with the receiving party.For example, the request may be transmitted to the bank device 150, andmay be configured to cause the bank device 150 to determine whether thecandidate account information identifies a valid account at the bankingentity.

The request may be received at the bank device 150 as a request 106. Thebank device 150 may determine whether the candidate account informationidentifies a valid account based on information stored in a database.For example, a database 160 may be stored at the memory 154 of the bankdevice 150. The database 160 may include account information 162. Theaccount information 162 may include one or more entries identifyingcustomers having accounts at a banking entity operating the bank device150. In an aspect, the database 160 may be stored at a device externalto the bank device 150, such as a distributed database stored across aplurality of storage devices which may be collocated or geographicallydistributed. The bank device 150 may be configured to provide accountauthorization/validation services for the banking entity and one or morethird parties, such as the money transfer entity.

The bank device 150 may be configured to determine, based on thecandidate account information included in the request 106 and theaccount information 162, whether the account associated with thereceiving party is a valid account. A valid account may be indicatedwhen an account number included in the candidate account informationmatches an account number identified based on the account information162. Additionally or alternatively, a valid account may be indicatedwhen the name of the receiving party matches a name associated with thematching account number in the account information 162. The candidateaccount information may include additional information (e.g., an addressassociated with the receiving party, a routing number associated withthe banking entity, etc.) that may be cross-referenced with the accountinformation 162 to perform account validations in response to requests,such as the request 106.

Based on the account validity determination, the bank device 150 maygenerate validation information that includes an indication of whetherthe account with the receiving party is a valid account at the bankingentity. For example, when the candidate account information indicates avalid account number, but the name of the receiving party does not matcha name of an account holder associated with the account identified bythe account number, the validation information may indicate an invalidaccount. As an additional example, when the candidate accountinformation indicates an invalid account number (e.g., an account numberthat does not match an account number at the banking entity), thevalidation information may indicate an invalid account. When thecandidate account information includes an account number matching anaccount number at the banking entity and the name of the receivingparty, as indicated in the candidate account information, matches anentry in the account information 162, the validation information mayindicate a valid account (e.g., an account corresponding to thecandidate account information exists at the banking entity).

In an aspect, the validation information may include error codes orother descriptive indicators indicating a reason that the validationinformation indicates an invalid account. For example, when the accountnumber indicated in the candidate account information exists (e.g.,matches an account number of an entry in the account information 162),but the name of the receiving party does not match a name of an accountholder corresponding to the account number, the validation informationmay include information indicating a name mismatch. When the accountnumber indicated in the candidate account information does not exist(e.g., does not match an account number in the account information 162),the validation information may include information indicating an invalidaccount number. The error codes may be used to present information atthe sending party device 110 or the agent device 130 to indicate areason why the account was determined invalid. This may enable therespective users to correct the error, if possible, such as by providingthe correct account number, correcting a typographical errors (e.g., amisspelled name or incorrect address), etc., and retransmit the requestfor account validation if desired.

The bank device 150 may transmit (e.g., using the communicationinterface 158) the validation information to the sending party device110 (e.g., when the request 106 corresponds to the request 102) via thenetwork 170, or to the agent device 130 (e.g., when the request 106corresponds to the request 104) via the network 170, as indicated inFIG. 1 by validation data 180. The validation data 180 may be received(e.g., using the communication interface 118) at the sending partydevice 110 as validation data 184 (e.g., when the request 106corresponds to the request 102), or may be received (e.g., using thecommunication interface 138) at the agent device 130 as validation data182 (e.g., when the request 106 corresponds to the request 104).

The sending party device 110, or the agent device 130 may determine,based on the received validation information (e.g., the validation data184 or the validation data 182, respectively) whether the accountinformation associated with the receiving party, as provided by thesending party (e.g., using the user interface of the application at thesending party device 110 or as provided to the agent device 130),indicates a valid account. In response to a determination that theaccount associated with the receiving party is valid, the sending partydevice 110, or the agent device 130, may initiate the money transfertransaction between the sending party and the receiving party.Initiation of the money transfer transaction may cause funds to bedeposited into the account associated with the receiving party.

In an aspect, the money transfer transaction may be initiated from thesending party device 110 or the agent device 130 in response toreceiving an input indicating that the funds and a transaction fee havebeen collected from the sending party. The input indicating the fundsand the transaction fee have been collected may be received via entry ofa code via the user interface of the application (e.g., at the sendingparty device 110), via scanning of a barcode using an imaging device(e.g., a camera module of the sending party device 110, a barcodescanner coupled to or integrated with the agent device 130, etc.), via amessage received from the money transfer entity (e.g., a messagereceived at the sending party device 110 from the agent device 130 orthe central server 172, a message received at the agent device 130 fromthe central server 172, or an input received at the agent device 130from a user of the agent device 130), via an authorization received atthe sending party device 110 or the agent device 130 from a financialcard entity (e.g., a debit card or credit card authorization/processingentity), another input, or a combination thereof.

Initiating the money transfer transaction may include transmitting amoney transfer request (MTR) to the bank device 150. For example, whenthe money transfer transaction is initiated from the sending partydevice 110, the request may be generated and sent to the bank device 150as an MTR 190. As another example, when the money transfer transactionis initiated from the agent device 130, the request may be generated andsent to the bank device 150 as an MTR 192. The MTR (e.g., either the MTR190 or the MTR 192) may be received at the bank device 150 as an MTR194. In response to receiving the MTR 194, the bank device 150 mayprocess the money transfer transaction and deposit the funds into theaccount associated with the receiving party.

In an aspect, the funds are deposited into the account associated withthe receiving party by transferring the funds to the account from anaccount associated with the money transfer entity. For example, themoney transfer entity may establish relationships with one or morebanking entities (e.g., affiliate banks) and may also establish anaccount or line of credit at each affiliate bank. Thus, when the accountof the receiving party is at an affiliate bank, the MTR 194 may beprocessed in real-time by transferring the funds to from the moneytransfer account at the affiliate bank to the account of the receivingparty at the affiliate bank. Thus, the present disclosure provides forreal-time account validation and funding of C2A transactions when validaccount information is provided. Further aspects of providing forreal-time account validation and funding of C2A transactions wheninvalid account information is provided are described below.

In response to a determination that the account associated with thereceiving party is invalid, the sending party device 110, or the agentdevice 130, may initiate a request to create an account at the bankingentity. For example, the user interface may present informationindicating the candidate account information is invalid and may providea prompt to the user of the sending party device 110. The prompt mayoffer the sending party an opportunity to create an account at thebanking entity associated with the bank device 150 on behalf of thereceiving party. In an aspect, if the bank device 150 that provided thevalidation information to the sending party device 110 is not anaffiliate bank, the prompt may offer the sending party the opportunityto create an account on behalf of the receiving party at a bankingentity that is not associated with the bank device 150, such as at anaffiliate bank. Similar operations may be performed at the agent device130.

The sending party device 110 or the agent device 130 may receive aninput corresponding to a request to create a new account associated withthe receiving party. In response to the input, the sending party device,or the agent device 130, may initiate transmission of a new accountrequest (not shown in FIG. 1) to the bank device 150 (or another bankdevice). The new account request may include the candidate accountinformation and may be configured to cause the bank device of thebanking entity to create the new account on behalf of the receivingparty.

The new account request may be received at the bank device 150, and thebank device 150 may, in response to the new account request, initiatecreation of the new account based on the candidate account information.In an aspect, the new account created in response to the new accountrequest may not be created as a complete bank account. For example, anaccount number of the new account may indicate that the account wasopened by a party (e.g., the sending party) other than the account owner(e.g., the receiving party). Thus, prior to enabling withdrawal of fundsfrom the new account, the account owner may need to provide additionalinformation/fill out some paper work, etc. In response to creating thenew account, the bank device may transmit a message including accountinformation corresponding to the new account to the sending party device110 or the agent device 130. The sending party device 110 or the agentdevice 130 may initiate money transfer transaction (e.g., transmit theMTR 190 or the MTR 192 to the bank device 150) based on the accountinformation corresponding to the new account.

The bank device 150 may receive the MTR 194 including the accountinformation corresponding to the new account, and may process the moneytransfer transaction (e.g., the C2A transaction) based on the accountinformation corresponding to the new account. For example, the bankdevice 150 may deposit the funds into the new account. In an aspect, thefunds are deposited into the new account in real-time. The funds may bedeposited into the new account by transferring the funds to the newaccount from an account at the banking entity associated with the moneytransfer.

After completion of the funds transfer (e.g., the funds have beendeposited in the account of the receiving party or the new accountcreated on behalf of the receiving party), a confirmation number orother identifier may be provided to the sending party. In an aspect, theinformation provided to the bank device 150 includes a telephone number,an email address, or other contact information associated with thereceiving party. In response to depositing funds into the receivingparty's account, or creating the new account on behalf of the receivingparty and depositing the funds into the new account, the bank device 150may transmit information (e.g., a simple message service (SMS) message,a text message, an email message, an automated voice response systemmessage, or another type of message) to the receiving party to indicatethat the funds have been deposited into the account or that the accounthas been created.

When the account was determined to be a valid account, the receivingparty may access the funds immediately (e.g., using an automated tellermachine, a debit card, or other payment means) without visiting thebanking entity. When the account was created on behalf of the receivingparty, the receiving party may visit the banking entity to access thefunds. For example, the receiving party may visit a location (e.g., abrick and mortar bank) provided by the banking entity and access thefunds. The banking entity may provide the receiving party with severaloptions for accessing the funds in the new account. For example, thereceiving party may complete opening of the account by filling out anynecessary paper work, such as for compliance with one or more bankingregulations. Alternatively, the receiving party, upon authenticatinghis/her identity to the banking entity, may cash out the funds from thenew account. The bank may charge a transaction fee for creating the newaccount and for depositing the funds in the new account. However, whenthe receiving party elects to complete the opening of the account (e.g.,become a customer of the banking entity), the banking entity may reduceor waive the transaction fee. Thus, the system 100 facilitates real-timemoney transfer transactions (e.g., C2A transactions) despite a sendingparty providing incorrect or otherwise invalid bank account informationassociated with an account of the receiving party.

In an additional or alternative aspect, the system 100 may support ahybrid money transfer transactions, where the money transfer transactionis funded between a first money transfer entity location and a secondmoney transfer entity location using a C2A transaction, but thereceiving party receives funding of the money transfer transaction atthe second money transfer location in cash, as opposed to a deposit intothe receiving parties bank account. For example, the sending party mayinitiate the transaction at the first money transfer location (e.g., viaan employee using the agent device 130) or at the sending party device110. The sending party may indicate the second money transfer locationas a location where the receiving party intends to receive the funds,and may initiate the money transfer transaction.

The agent device 130, the central server 172, or both, may detect themoney transfer transaction and may determine whether the first moneytransfer location and the second money transfer location are associatedwith a same or different account (e.g., bank account). When the firstmoney transfer location and the second money transfer location areassociated with different accounts, such as when the first moneytransfer location is in a first geographic area (e.g., city, state,country, etc.) and the second money transfer location is in a secondgeographic area that is different from the first geographic area (e.g.,a different city, a different state, a different country, etc.), theagent device 130, the central server 172, or both, may determinecandidate account information associated with an account correspondingto the second money transfer location. The candidate account informationassociated with an account corresponding to the second money transferlocation may be determined based on information stored at a database(not shown in FIG. 1) of the central server 172 or information stored inthe database 140. The candidate account information may be used toinitiate a C2A transaction that deposits funds into the accountcorresponding to the second money transfer location, and may beperformed as described above. In response to depositing the funds intothe account corresponding to the second money transfer location, thebank device 150 may provide information indicating the deposit to anagent device 130 at the second money transfer location, and providingauthorization to release the funds to the receiving party at the secondlocation in real-time. Thus, the system 100 may facilitate cash to cashtransactions between money transfer entities operated by differententities (e.g., different individuals operating separate franchises of amoney transfer entity or different money transfer entities), whileproviding assurance to the party providing the funds to the receivingparty that the funds have been received at the party's account.

In an aspect, the sending party may provide the funds for the moneytransfer transaction to the employee operating the agent device 130. Inan additional or alternative aspect, the sending party may use theapplication operating at the sending party device 110 to provide thefunds for the money transfer transaction. For example, the funds may beprovided based on payment information 126 stored in a database 120 atthe memory 114 of the sending party device 110. The payment information126 may include information identifying a prepaid amount of fundsprovided to the money transfer entity, information identifying afinancial card (e.g., a debit card or a credit card) of the sendingparty, or other information (e.g., a code) indicating payment of thefirst amount of funds to the money transfer entity. In an aspect,initiating the money transfer transaction may include authenticating thetransaction with the agent device 130 or the central server 172. Forexample, the application may communicate with the agent device 130 orthe central server 172 via the network 170 to verify the prepaid amountof funds provided to the money transfer entity by the sending party, toverify the code, etc.

As shown in FIG. 1, the agent device 130 may include a database 140stored at the memory 134 of the agent device 130. The database 140 maystore account information 142 including information associated with oneor more sending parties, one or more receiving parties, transactionhistory information 144, and payment information 146. The accountinformation 142 may include information associated with individuals(e.g., customers of the money transfer entity) that have previously usedthe money transfer services provided by the money transfer entity. Thetransaction history information 144 may include a log of previouslycompleted money transfer transactions. The payment information 146 mayinclude information associated with any amounts of prepaid fundsprovided by one or more of the customers of the money transfer entity, alog of financial card transactions that have been processed by the moneytransfer entity, etc. The account information 142, the transactionhistory information 144, and the payment information 146 may be linkedto facilitate monitoring of the money transfer transactions forsuspicious or fraudulent activity and/or for auditing and governmentregulation compliance purposes.

In an aspect, the database 120 stored at the memory 114 of the sendingparty device 110 may store receiving party information 122, transactionhistory information 124, and payment information 126. The receivingparty information 122 may include information associated with one ormore individuals that the sending party has previously sent funds to, ordesires to send funds to using the money transfer services of the moneytransfer entity. For a particular receiving party, the receiving partyinformation 122 may include the candidate account information (e.g., abank account number associated with an account of the particularreceiving party, information identifying a name of a banking entityassociated the account of the particular receiving party, a name of theparticular receiving party, a routing number associated with the bankingentity, etc.). The transaction history information 124 may store recordsof previously completed money transfer transactions between the sendingparty and the one or more receiving parties indicated by the receivingparty information 122. In an aspect, the user interface of theapplication may present a selectable list of one or more candidatereceiving parties at the display device of the sending party device 110.The sending party device may receiving an input indicating a selectionof a first receiving party from the selectable list of one or morecandidate receiving parties, and, in response to the input, retrievecandidate account information associated with the first receiving partyfrom the receiving party information 122 stored at the database 120. Theuser interface may also include a selectable option to create a newentry in the receiving party information 122 (e.g., when the intendedreceiving party is not included in the selectable list).

In an aspect, the user interface of the application may be configured toreceive an input indicating an amount of funds to be transferred duringthe money transfer transaction. The sending party device 110 maygenerate the request 102 based on the selection of the first receivingparty from the selectable list and the input indicating the amount offunds to be transferred. In an aspect, the request 102 may betransmitted to the central server 172 and the central server 172 maythen forward request to the bank device 150. In an aspect, the bankdevice may be an electronic device operated by the money transferentity, such as the central server 172, rather than the banking entity.For example, the money transfer entity may establish a relationship withthe banking entity (e.g., an affiliate bank), and the banking entity mayprovide the money transfer entity with access to a network (e.g., aprivate network) that enables the money transfer entity to performreal-time account validation services, as described above, using theaccount information 162.

By performing money transfer transactions and creating accounts usingthe system 100, a number of customers that perform money transfertransactions with the money transfer entity may be increased.Additionally, a relationship between the money transfer entity and thebanking entity may be strengthened, leading to increased cross-productpromotional opportunities that facilitate increased revenue for both themoney transfer entity and the banking entity. Additionally, theconvenience provided by enabling sending parties to create accounts onbehalf of receiving parties may increase customer loyalty to the moneytransfer entity and the banking entity. Further, the system 100 mayprovide for real-time account validation and real-time funding of C2Atransactions.

Additionally, by performing money transfer transactions and creatingaccounts using the system 100, customer satisfaction of the sendingparty may be increased. For example, because account validations areperformed in real-time, the sending party receives real-timeconfirmation that the funds are available for access by the receivingparty (e.g., when the account is a valid account). Additionally, whenthe account is not a valid account, the sending party may still providethe funds to the receiving party by creating a new account on behalf ofthe receiving party and receive real-time confirmation that the fundsare available for access by the receiving party from the new account.This may increase the sending party's satisfaction with the moneytransfer services provided by the money transfer entity, and mayincrease the likelihood that the sending party will utilize the moneytransfer entity for subsequent money transfer transactions.

Referring to FIG. 2, a flow chart illustrating aspects of an exemplarymethod for performing a money transfer transaction at an agent device isshown and designated 200. In an aspect, the method 200 may be performedentirely or partially at the agent device 130 of FIG. 1, entirely orpartially at the central server 172 of FIG. 1, or a combination thereof.At 210, the method 200 includes receiving a request to initiate a moneytransfer transaction between a sending party and a receiving party. Therequest may include information identifying an account associated withthe receiving party. At 220, the method 200 includes initiatingvalidation of the account associated with the receiving party. In anaspect, initiating validation of the account associated with thereceiving party may include transmitting candidate account information(e.g., the request 104 of FIG. 1) to a bank device (e.g., the bankdevice 150 of FIG. 1). In an additional or alternative aspect, thevalidation of the account may be performed by a single device (e.g., anagent device 130 communicatively coupled to a database of accountinformation, such as the account information 162 of FIG. 1).

At 230, the method 200 includes performing a determination as to whetherthe account associated with the receiving party is valid. At 240, themethod 200 includes initiating the money transfer transaction betweenthe sending party and the receiving party in response to a determinationthat the account associated with the receiving party is valid. The moneytransfer transaction may be initiated and funded as described withreference to FIG. 1. For example, initiation of the money transfertransaction may causes funds to be deposited into the account associatedwith the receiving party (e.g., from an account associated with a moneytransfer entity). In an aspect, the method 200 may include receiving aninput indicating that the funds and a transaction fee have beencollected from the sending party, and the funds may be deposited intothe account associated with the receiving party in response to theinput. In an aspect, the funds are deposited into the account associatedwith the receiving party in real-time.

At 250, the method 200 includes receiving a request to create a newaccount associated with the receiving party in response to adetermination that the account associated with the receiving party isnot valid. At 252, the method 200 may include initiating transmission ofinformation included in the request to a financial entity (e.g., thebanking device 150 of FIG. 1 associated with the banking entity) tocause the financial entity to create the new account associated with thereceiving party. In an aspect, the information included in the requestmay include a name of the receiving party, an address of the receivingparty, a telephone number associated with the receiving party, an emailaddress associated with the receiving party, etc. The banking entity, ormore particularly, an electronic device of the banking entity, such asthe bank device 150 of FIG. 1, may receive the request and initiatecreation of the account. The banking entity may transmit accountinformation associated with the new account to the agent device 130 orthe central server 172, as described with reference to FIG. 1.

At 254, the method 200 includes receiving account information associatedwith the new account from the financial entity. At 260, the method 200includes initiating the money transfer transaction between the sendingparty and the receiving party based on the account informationassociated with the new account. Initiation of the money transfertransaction may cause funds to be deposited into the new account, asdescribed with reference to FIG. 1. For example, initiation of the moneytransfer transaction may causes funds to be deposited into the newaccount associated with the receiving party (e.g., from an accountassociated with a money transfer entity). In an aspect, the method 200may include receiving an input indicating that the funds and atransaction fee have been collected from the sending party, and thefunds may be deposited into the new account in response to the input. Inan aspect, the funds are deposited into the new account in real-time.

By performing money transfer transactions and creating accounts usingthe method 300, a number of customers that perform money transfertransactions with the money transfer entity may be increased.Additionally, a relationship between the money transfer entity and thebanking entity may be strengthened, leading to increased cross-productpromotional opportunities that facilitate increased revenue for both themoney transfer entity and the banking entity. Additionally, theconvenience provided by enabling sending parties to create accounts onbehalf of receiving parties may increase customer loyalty to the moneytransfer entity and the banking entity. Further, the method 400 mayprovide for real-time account validation and real-time funding of C2Atransactions.

Referring to FIG. 3, a flow chart illustrating exemplary aspects of amethod of initiating a money transfer transaction from a sending partydevice is shown and designated. In an aspect, the method 300 may beperformed at the sending party device 110 of FIG. 1. At 310, the method300 includes presenting, at a display device of an electronic device, auser interface. In an aspect, the user interface may be presented at adisplay device of the sending party device 110 of FIG. 1 (e.g., usingthe application described with reference to FIG. 1). The user interfacemay include a selectable option to initiate a money transfer transactionbetween a sending party and a receiving party.

At 320, the method 300 includes receiving an input corresponding to arequest to initiate a first money transfer transaction between thesending party and the receiving party. The request may includeinformation identifying an account associated with the receiving party.At 330, the method 300 includes initiating validation of the accountassociated with the receiving party. In an aspect, initiating thevalidation of the account may include transmitting an account validationrequest to a bank device (e.g., the bank device 150 of FIG. 1). In anadditional or alternative aspect, initiating the validation of theaccount may include transmitting the account validation request to anelectronic device of a money transfer entity (e.g., the agent device 130or the central server 172).

At 340, the method 300 includes performing a determination of whetherthe account associated with the receiving party is valid. In an aspect,the determination may be performed based on information (e.g., thevalidation data 184 of FIG. 1) received from the bank device. In anadditional or alternative aspect, the determination may be performedbased on information received from the electronic device of the moneytransfer entity. In response to a determination that the account isvalid, the method 300 includes, at 350, initiating the money transfertransaction between the sending party and the receiving party.Initiation of the money transfer transaction may cause funds to bedeposited into the account associated with the receiving party, asdescribed with reference to FIG. 1.

In response to a determination that the account associated with thereceiving party is not valid, the method 300 includes, at 360, receivinga request to create a new account associated with the receiving party.In an aspect, the request to create the new account may be received viaan input provided via a user interface of an application executing atthe mobile device, as described with reference to FIG. 1. The requestmay include information identifying the receiving party, such as thereceiving party's name, an address associated with the receiving party,an email address associated with the receiving party, a telephone numberof the receiving party, etc., as described with reference to FIG. 1. At362, the method 300 includes initiating transmission the request tocreate the new account to a financial entity (e.g., the banking entityand the bank device 150 of FIG. 1). The request may be configured tocause the financial entity to create the new account on behalf of thereceiving party, as described with reference to FIG. 1. At 364, themethod 300 includes receiving account information associated with thenew account from the financial entity.

At 370, the method 300 includes initiating the money transfertransaction between the sending party and the receiving party based onthe account information associated with the new account. Initiation ofthe money transfer transaction may cause funds to be deposited into thenew account, as described with reference to FIG. 1. For example,initiation of the money transfer transaction may causes funds to bedeposited into the new account associated with the receiving party(e.g., from an account associated with a money transfer entity). In anaspect, the method 300 may include receiving an input indicating thatthe funds and a transaction fee have been collected from the sendingparty, and the funds may be deposited into the new account in responseto the input. The input indicating that the funds and the transactionfee have been collected may be received via entry of a code via the userinterface, via scanning of a barcode using an imaging device of thesending party device 110 of FIG. 1, via a message received at thesending party device 110 of FIG. 1 from a money transfer entity, via anauthorization received at the sending party device 110 of FIG. 1 from afinancial card entity, or a combination thereof. In an aspect, the fundsare deposited into the new account in real-time.

By performing money transfer transactions and creating accounts usingthe method 300, customer satisfaction of the sending party may beincreased. For example, because account validations are performed inreal-time, the sending party receives real-time confirmation that thefunds are available for access by the receiving party (e.g., when theaccount is a valid account). Additionally, when the account is not avalid account, the sending party may still provide the funds to thereceiving party by creating a new account on behalf of the receivingparty and receive real-time confirmation that the funds are availablefor access by the receiving party from the new account. This mayincrease the sending party's satisfaction with the money transferservices provided by the money transfer entity, and may increase thelikelihood that the sending party will utilize the money transfer entityfor subsequent money transfer transactions.

Referring to FIG. 4, a flow chart illustrating aspects of an exemplarymethod for creating an account in connection with a money transfertransaction is shown and designated 400. The method 400 may be performedby an electronic device (e.g., a computer, a server, etc.) associatedwith a financial entity (e.g., the banking entity described withreference to FIG. 1). In an aspect, the method 400 may be performed bythe bank device 150 of FIG. 1.

At 410, the method 400 includes receiving an account validation requestfrom a money transfer entity in connection with a money transfertransaction between a sending party and a receiving party. The accountvalidation request may include candidate account information (e.g., thecandidate account information described with reference to FIG. 1)associated with an account associated with the receiving party. At 420,the method 400 includes validating the candidate account informationbased on whether the account associated with the receiving party exists(e.g., is valid account at the financial entity). At 430, the method 400includes transmitting validation information to the money transferentity. The validation information may include an indication of whetherthe account associated with the receiving party is valid (e.g., is anexisting account at the financial entity, is an account associated withthe receiving party, etc.).

When the validation information includes an indication that the accountassociated with the receiving party is not valid (e.g., is not anexisting account at the financial entity, is not an account associatedwith the receiving party, etc.), the method 400 includes, at 440,receiving a request to create a new account based on the candidateaccount information. At 450, the method 400 includes initiating creationof the new account based on the candidate account information. At 460,the method 400 includes transmitting account information correspondingto the new account to the money transfer entity. At 470, the method 400includes initiating the money transfer transaction based on the accountinformation. When the validation information includes an indication thatthe account associated with the receiving party is valid (e.g., is anexisting account at the financial entity and is an account associatedwith the receiving party), the method 400 includes, at 480, initiatingthe money transfer transaction based on the candidate accountinformation.

Initiating the money transfer transaction may include depositing fundsinto the account (e.g., the newly created account or an existingaccount) associated with the receiving party. An amount of the fundsdeposited into the new account may be determined based informationreceived from the money transfer entity. In an aspect, the amount of thefunds may be indicated in the candidate account information. In anadditional or alternative aspect, the amount of the funds may bedetermined based on additional information received from the moneytransfer entity (e.g., a message received in response to providing thevalidation information indicating the account associated with thereceiving party is valid). In an aspect, the funds may be deposited intothe account from another account (e.g., an account associated with themoney transfer entity) at the financial entity (e.g., the bank).

By performing money transfer transactions and creating accounts usingthe method 400, a number of customers that bank with the banking entitymay be increased. Additionally, a relationship between the moneytransfer entity and the banking entity may be strengthened, leading toincreased cross-product promotional opportunities that facilitateincreased revenue for the money transfer entity and the banking entity.Additionally, the convenience provided by enabling sending parties tocreate accounts on behalf of receiving parties may increase customerloyalty to the money transfer entity and the banking entity. Further,the method 400 may provide for real-time account validation andreal-time funding of C2A transactions.

It is appreciated that the above example cases may be implementedseparately or in combination. Additionally, it is noted that one or moresteps in the example flow processes of FIGS. 2-3 may be implemented in adiffering order or omitted all together. It is noted that the functionalblocks, modules and processes illustrated in FIGS. 1-4 may include orutilize processors (e.g., the processors 112, 132, 152 of FIG. 1,respectively), electronics devices (e.g., the sending party device 110,the agent device 130, the bank device 150, and the central server 172 ofFIG. 1), hardware devices, electronics components, logical circuits,memories, software codes, firmware codes, etc., or any combinationthereof.

Those of skill would further appreciate that the various illustrativelogical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described inconnection with the present disclosure may be implemented as electronichardware, computer software (e.g., the instructions 116, 136, 156 ofFIG. 1, respectively), or combinations of both. To clearly illustratethis interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrativecomponents, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been describedabove generally in terms of their functionality. Whether suchfunctionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon theparticular application and design constraints imposed on the overallsystem (e.g., the system 100). Skilled artisans may implement thedescribed functionality in varying ways for each particular application,but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing adeparture from the scope of the present disclosure.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits describedin connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performedwith a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmablegate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate ortransistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combinationthereof designed to perform the functions described herein. Ageneral-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in thealternative, the processor may be any conventional processor,controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also beimplemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combinationof a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one ormore microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration.

The steps of a method (e.g., the method 200 of FIG. 2, the method 300 ofFIG. 3, and the method 400 of FIG. 4) or algorithm described inconnection with the present disclosure may be embodied directly inhardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in acombination of the two. A software module may reside in RAM memory,flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, harddisk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage mediumknown in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to theprocessor such that the processor can read information from, and writeinformation to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storagemedium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storagemedium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal. Inthe alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside asdiscrete components in a user terminal.

In one or more exemplary designs, the functions described in connectionwith FIGS. 1-4 may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, orany combination thereof. When implemented in software, the functions maybe stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions (e.g., theinstructions 116, 136, 156 of FIG. 1, respectively) or code on acomputer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computerstorage media and communication media including any medium thatfacilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Astorage media may be any available media that can be accessed by ageneral purpose or special purpose computer. By way of example, and notlimitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM,CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or othermagnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carryor store desired program code means in the form of instructions or datastructures and that can be accessed by a general-purpose orspecial-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purposeprocessor. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readablemedium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website,server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable,twisted pair, or digital subscriber line (DSL), then the coaxial cable,fiber optic cable, twisted pair, or are included in the definition ofmedium. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laserdisc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk andblu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, whilediscs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the aboveshould also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

Although aspects of the present application and their advantages havebeen described in detail, it should be understood that various changes,substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the embodiments as defined by the appendedclaims. Moreover, the scope of the present application is not intendedto be limited to the particular embodiments of the process, machine,manufacture, composition of matter, means, methods and steps describedin the specification. As one of ordinary skill in the art will readilyappreciate from the above disclosure, processes, machines, manufacture,compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps, presently existing orlater to be developed that perform substantially the same function orachieve substantially the same result as the corresponding embodimentsdescribed herein may be utilized. Accordingly, the appended claims areintended to include within their scope such processes, machines,manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, by a processor, arequest to initiate a money transfer transaction between a sending partyand a receiving party, wherein the request includes informationidentifying an account associated with the receiving party; initiating,by the processor, validation of the account associated with thereceiving party; and in response to a determination that the accountassociated with the receiving party is not valid, receiving a request tocreate a new account associated with the receiving party.
 2. The methodof claim 1, wherein the method includes initiating the money transfertransaction between the sending party and the receiving party inresponse to a determination that the account associated with thereceiving party is valid, wherein initiation of the money transfertransaction causes funds to be deposited into the account associatedwith the receiving party, and wherein funds are deposited into theaccount associated with the receiving party in real-time.
 3. The methodof claim 2, wherein the funds are deposited into the account associatedwith the receiving party by transferring the funds to the account froman account associated with a money transfer entity, and wherein theaccount associated with the money transfer entity and the accountassociated with the receiving party correspond to financial accounts ata financial entity.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the methodincludes receiving an input indicating that the funds and a transactionfee have been collected from the sending party, and wherein the fundsare deposited into the account associated with the receiving party inresponse to the input.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the methodincludes: initiating transmission of information included in the requestto create the new account to a financial entity to cause the financialentity to create the new account associated with the receiving party;and initiating the money transfer transaction between the sending partyand the receiving party, wherein initiation of the money transfertransaction causes funds to be deposited into the new account.
 6. Themethod of claim 5, wherein the method includes receiving accountinformation associated with the new account from the financial entity,wherein the money transfer transaction is initiated based on the accountinformation associated with the new account.
 7. The method of claim 5,wherein the method includes receiving an input indicating that the fundsand a transaction fee have been collected from the sending party, andwherein the funds are deposited into the new account in response to theinput.
 8. The method of claim 5, wherein the funds are deposited intothe new account in real-time.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein thefunds are deposited into the new account in real-time by transferringthe funds to the new account from an account associated with a moneytransfer entity, and wherein the account associated with the moneytransfer entity and the new account correspond to bank accounts at asame banking entity.
 10. A system comprising: a processor; and a memorycoupled to the processor, the memory storing instructions that, whenexecuted by the processor, cause the processor to perform operationsincluding: receiving a request to initiate a money transfer transactionbetween a sending party and a receiving party, wherein the requestincludes information identifying an account associated with thereceiving party; initiating validation of the account associated withthe receiving party; and in response to a determination that the accountassociated with the receiving party is not valid, receiving a request tocreate a new account associated with the receiving party.
 11. The systemof claim 10, wherein the operations include initiating the moneytransfer transaction between the sending party and the receiving partyin response to a determination that the account associated with thereceiving party is valid, wherein initiation of the money transfertransaction causes funds to be deposited into the account associatedwith the receiving party, and wherein the funds are deposited into theaccount associated with the receiving party in real-time.
 12. The systemof claim 11, wherein the funds are deposited into the account associatedwith the receiving party in real-time by transferring the funds to theaccount from an account associated with a money transfer entity, andwherein the account associated with the money transfer entity and theaccount associated with the receiving party correspond to financialaccounts at a financial entity.
 13. The system of claim 11, wherein theoperations include receiving an input indicating that the funds and atransaction fee have been collected from the sending party, and whereinthe funds are deposited into the account associated with the receivingparty in response to the input.
 14. The system of claim 10, wherein theoperations include: initiating transmission of information included inthe request to create the new account to a financial entity to cause thefinancial entity to create the new account associated with the receivingparty; and receiving account information associated with the new accountfrom the financial entity, wherein the money transfer transaction isinitiated based on the account information associated with the newaccount.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the operations includeinitiating the money transfer transaction between the sending party andthe receiving party, wherein initiation of the money transfertransaction causes funds to be deposited into the new account.
 16. Thesystem of claim 15, wherein the operations include receiving an inputindicating that the funds and a transaction fee have been collected fromthe sending party, and wherein the funds are deposited into the newaccount in response to the input.
 17. The system of claim 15, whereinthe funds are deposited into the new account in real-time bytransferring the funds to the new account from an account associatedwith a money transfer entity, and wherein the account associated withthe money transfer entity and the new account correspond to bankaccounts at a same banking entity.
 18. A computer-readable storagedevice storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, causethe processor to perform operations including: receiving a request toinitiate a money transfer transaction between a sending party and areceiving party, wherein the request includes information identifying anaccount associated with the receiving party; initiating validation ofthe account associated with the receiving party; and receiving a requestto create a new account associated with the receiving party in responseto a determination that the account associated with the receiving partyis not valid.
 19. The computer-readable storage device of claim 18,wherein the operations include initiating the money transfer transactionbetween the sending party and the receiving party in response to adetermination that the account associated with the receiving party isvalid, wherein initiation of the money transfer transaction causes fundsto be deposited into the account associated with the receiving party,and wherein the funds are deposited into the account associated with thereceiving party in real-time.
 20. The computer-readable storage deviceof claim 19, wherein the funds are deposited into the account associatedwith the receiving party in real-time by transferring the funds to theaccount from an account associated with a money transfer entity, andwherein the account associated with the money transfer entity and theaccount associated with the receiving party correspond to financialaccounts at a financial entity.
 21. The computer-readable storage deviceof claim 19, wherein the operations include receiving an inputindicating that the funds and a transaction fee have been collected fromthe sending party, and wherein the funds are deposited into the accountassociated with the receiving party in response to the input.
 22. Thecomputer-readable storage device of claim 18, wherein the operationsinclude: initiating transmission of information included in the requestto a financial entity to cause the financial entity to create the newaccount associated with the receiving party; and receiving accountinformation associated with the new account from the financial entity,wherein the money transfer transaction is initiated based on the accountinformation associated with the new account.
 23. The computer-readablestorage device of claim 22, wherein the operations include initiatingthe money transfer transaction between the sending party and thereceiving party, wherein initiation of the money transfer transactioncauses funds to be deposited into the new account.
 24. Thecomputer-readable storage device of claim 23, wherein the operationsinclude receiving an input indicating that the funds and a transactionfee have been collected from the sending party, and wherein the fundsare deposited into the new account in response to the input.
 25. Thecomputer-readable storage device of claim 23, wherein the funds aredeposited into the new account in real-time by transferring the funds tothe new account from an account associated with a money transfer entity,and wherein the account associated with the money transfer entity andthe new account correspond to bank accounts at a same banking entity.26. A computer-readable storage device storing instructions that, whenexecuted by a processor, cause the processor to perform operationsincluding: presenting, at a display device, a user interface, whereinthe user interface includes a selectable option to initiate a moneytransfer transaction between a sending party and a receiving party;receiving an input corresponding to a request to initiate a first moneytransfer transaction between a first sending party and a first receivingparty, wherein the request includes information identifying an accountassociated with the first receiving party; initiating validation of theaccount associated with the first receiving party; and receiving arequest to create a new account associated with the first receivingparty in response to a determination, based on the validation, that theaccount associated with the first receiving party is not valid.
 27. Thecomputer-readable storage device of claim 26, wherein the operationsinclude: transmitting the information identifying the account associatedwith the first receiving party to an account validation entity; andreceiving account validity information from the account validationentity, wherein the determination that the account associated with thefirst receiving party is valid is based on the account validityinformation.
 28. The computer-readable storage device of claim 26,wherein the operations include: presenting a selectable list of one ormore candidate receiving parties that includes the first receivingparty; receiving a second input indicating a selection of the firstreceiving party from the selectable list of one or more candidatereceiving parties; and in response to the second input, retrieving anentry from a database, wherein the entry includes the informationidentifying the account associated with the first receiving party basedon.
 29. The computer-readable storage device of claim 28, wherein thedetermination that the account associated with the first receiving partyis valid is based on the information identifying the account associatedwith the first receiving party.
 30. The computer-readable storage deviceof claim 26, wherein the operations include: initiating transmission ofthe request to create the new account to a financial entity, wherein therequest includes information identifying the first receiving party, andwherein the request is configured to cause the financial entity tocreate the new account; and receiving account information associatedwith the new account from the financial entity, wherein the moneytransfer transaction is initiated based on the account informationassociated with the new account.
 31. The computer-readable storagedevice of claim 30, wherein the operations include initiating the moneytransfer transaction between the first sending party and the firstreceiving party, wherein initiation of the money transfer transactioncauses funds to be deposited into the new account.
 32. Thecomputer-readable storage device of claim 31, wherein the operationsinclude receiving information indicating that the funds and atransaction fee have been collected from the sending party, and whereinthe funds are deposited into the new account associated with the firstreceiving party in response to the input.
 33. The computer-readablestorage device of claim 26, wherein the operations include initiatingthe money transfer transaction between the first sending party and thefirst receiving party in response to a determination that the account isvalid, wherein initiation of the money transfer transaction causes fundsto be deposited into the account, wherein the funds are deposited intothe account by transferring the funds to the account from an accountassociated with a money transfer entity, and wherein the accountassociated with the money transfer entity and the account associatedwith the first receiving party correspond to financial accounts at afinancial entity.
 34. The computer-readable storage device of claim 32,wherein the information indicating the funds and the transaction feehave been collected is received via entry of a code via the userinterface, via scanning of a barcode using an imaging device of anelectronic device, via a message received at the electronic device froma money transfer entity, via an authorization received at the electronicdevice from a financial card entity, or a combination thereof.
 35. Acomputer-readable storage device storing instructions that, whenexecuted by a processor, cause the processor to perform operationscomprising: receiving, from a money transfer entity, an accountvalidation request, wherein the account validation request is receivedin connection with a money transfer transaction between a sending partyand a receiving party, and wherein the account validation requestincludes candidate account information associated with an accountassociated with the receiving party; validating the candidate accountinformation based on whether the account associated with the receivingparty exists; transmitting, to the money transfer entity, validationinformation, wherein the validation information includes an indicationof whether the account associated with the receiving party is valid; andsubsequent to transmission of validation information indicating that theaccount with the receiving party does not exist, receiving a request tocreate a new account based on the candidate account information.
 36. Thecomputer-readable storage device of claim 35, wherein the operationsinclude: initiating creation of the new account based on the candidateaccount information; transmitting account information corresponding tothe new account to the money transfer entity; and initiating the moneytransfer transaction based on the account information.
 37. Thecomputer-readable storage device of claim 36, wherein the operationsinclude: receiving an input indicating whether the creation of the newaccount is to be completed or canceled; and determining a transactionfee based on the input.
 38. The computer-readable storage device ofclaim 37, wherein the operations include: in response to the inputindicating that the creation of the new account is to be completed,completing the creation of the new account, wherein funds provided inconnection with the money transfer transaction are available forwithdrawal from the new account subsequent to completing creation of thenew account; and in response to the input indicating that the creationof the new account is to be canceled: canceling the creation of the newaccount; and providing the funds received in connection with the moneytransfer transaction to the receiving party, wherein the funds availablefor withdrawal from the new account or the funds provided to thereceiving party are reduced by an amount corresponding to thetransaction fee.
 39. The computer-readable storage device of claim 37,wherein the transaction fee is reduced when the input indicates that thereceiving party wants to complete the creation of the new account.